Review of different vodka drinks and vodka cocktails

Vodka Martini Recipe. Shaken or Stirred?

Vodka Martini Recipe

There’s nothing really sophisticated in making a vodka martini recipe. It’s rather simple: martini is a mix of gin and vermouth, and vodka martini is a mix of vodka and vermouth. But that is only at a first glance, there are actually many particularities. Is it shaken or stirred, or can you swap any of the ingredients with something else?

The birth of vodka martini recipe

It was 1960s when a cocktail made of a mix of vodka and vermouth began to gain popularity. The person responsible for this is considered to be no other than Mr. Ian Fleming himself, the creator of one of the most popular characters in the literature of XX century, James Bond.

Remember when Sean Connery ordered this very drink several times while playing the character of James Bond? Nowadays many people, when ordering a martini mean the vodka martini recipe and not the mix of gin and vermouth as in original martini. James Bond is to blame for this misconception.

You must have heard his famous phrase “shaken, not stirred”. But what’s the difference?

Shaken martini is supposed to be colder than its stirred version. That is because it is shaken with ice. And if you are making a vodka martini recipe, we strongly advise you to make is shaken. Stirred martini is the one that is slightly carbonated. This is done by simply shaking the glass with martini in it. Result – it will taste slightly different.

According to the modern medicine shaken martinis are better for your health than stirred ones. The reason for this is the number of antioxidants in both cocktails, and shaken ones have more of them, making it better for you from a medicinal point of view.

A fun fact for you. Remember 2006 Casino Royale movie, where James Bond was played by Daniel Craig? He also ordered a vodka martini, but he didn’t seem to care whether it was shaken or stirred.

People have been making martini cocktails for more than 50 years, and these days there is an abundance of them, with vodka martini recipe being just one of them. Virtually there are martini cocktails made to the tastes of every person in the world. These cocktails differ in percentage of vodka and vermouth. What do you see when you imagine a glass of martini? Is it the famous shaped glass with an olive in it? Or maybe with a slice of lemon?

Now, the recipes. For the vodka martini recipe you will need vodka, dry vermouth, ice, a green olive, and a martini glass. Additionally you may use a cocktail shaker, but this is not a requirement as you can get the same results with a simple large glass.

For the stirred vodka martini recipe you will need to put some ice into the martini glass. Once the martini glass is cold add 3 or maybe even 4 ounces of vodka to cocktail shaker or another large glass. Then add a teaspoon of dry vermouth. This part needs some experimenting, because vermouth just adds flavor to your drink. So 1 teaspoon should be enough. If you think it’s not, add some more next time. Now mix the cocktail and gently stir it for a few seconds. Once done just pour it into your martini glass, but make sure ice doesn’t get into the glass. Add an olive or a slice of lemon.

For the shaken vodka martini recipe repeat all the steps as with the stirred version up until you mix the cocktail. Now shake it instead of mixing and stirring. When shaking the cocktail you help it to get colder as smaller pieces of ice break off bigger ones. Once this is done pour the contents into your martini glass filled with ice. Try to prevent large ice pieces from dropping into your martini glass. The result will be a cloudy version of vodka martini. Then add an olive or a slice of lemon.